Gravity
by leahhlee
Summary: The last heir of Gryffindor has resurfaced to attend Hogwarts at 16yrs old. Muted by a restricted life in the dark, she finds the harsh reality of the wizarding world hard to accept, and seeks out the comfort of her bloodline's worst enemy. DracoOCHarry
1. i The Lion's Fate

_i_. The Lion's Fate

Lionsgate: Gravity

The night had gone cold as the hour wound deeper into the night. In London, the skies were eternally grey, even at night they didn't succumb to blackness, but with the misty sheen on the Muddy Duck Tavern's windows, the sky was now a deep shadowy colour. The soft rains had battered the streets into a bitter wasteland and pools of water lay empty, as the cabs and walkers had retreated to the warmth of their homes.

It was Dumbledore who opened the door as a terrible splash announced the disturbance of such a pool, the wind greeting him with a brisk upturn of his pointed hat. He was able to gracefully scramble for it and keep it on his head as the wind cackled by. A bundled up figure appeared at the doorstep, folding her umbrella and wiping her boots with the tip, who quickly rustled through the door. A waiter took her purse and coat, and she drew herself together, cheeks pink from the cold.

She made quite a pretty picture. Her new pink silk kimono spread a dazzling array of embroidery across her legs and poured gracefully into a puddle of fabric swirling around her feet. The obi clapped about her middle set off a prized concave waist, perhaps aided in optical effect by a hushed pink-to-white gradient sweeping about the center, and was held firmly in place by steel buckles at the back. The obijime was just for show; there was no way a decorated string of porcelain beads could bind several layers of interfaced silk to her chest. The obi ran from just under her breast to the hip ridges in her stomach and was twisted up in an elegant knot that forced her to sit on the edge of every chair, but luckily hid the clasps that truly held her obi in place.

But for all the modesty of her draping silk, the demureness of her hair coiled neatly into a stylish bun atop her head and the calm aura of pride that swept around her like an autumn wind, her true nature was poorly concealed. She held herself with the dignity and poise of a lady, but her eyes, hungry for action, lusty for life, turbulent in their cyan colour, sharply contrasted her stately demeanor. As proper and as collected as she appeared, inside she was roiling with energy, pleading to some silent god to release her from her bodily prison. Like lanterns in foggy windows, her ice blue eyes burned with the fervent stream of life, alive and thrashing with endless vigor.

Eleksis Flamel shook Dumbledore's hand, embracing him with the other. "Oh, Albus, it is wonderful to see you again. Thank you, thank you."

The old wizard's eyes twinkled brightly. "We are happy to have you, my dear. Come, come, have a cup of mead and sit with us."

Weird was an unfit word for Albus Dumbledore. Out of the blue, perhaps. Usually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe might cover it. Just maybe. Nevertheless, there was something about him that seemed to draw the respect out of anyone in his midst, and that took him places in life.

Eleksis greeted the others in the room politely as Dumbledore poured her a glass of a honey-coloured liquid with his wand. Minerva McGonagall was present, wearing a yellow cashmere cloak with matching shoes. Eleksis kissed her on both cheeks as they were close correspondents—McGonagall ran a Transfiguration Convention once a year that the Flamels were happy to sponsor. They grasped hands and traded compliments, and Eleksis moved on.

She knelt to embrace the sprightly Filius Flitwick, smiling immensely when he dropped a kiss on her hand. "So wonderful to finally meet you in person, Mr. Flitwick," she cooed, entertained by his appearance.

"P-P-Please, Filius will do," he said bashfully, watching, entranced as she moved to Pomona Sprout, who was equally rapt in wonder by the young-looking witch.

"My, oh, my," she said in a flighty manor. "The great witch Eleksis Flamel. Over six-hundred years old…"

"Rude to call my age out, you know," Eleksis said in a way that wasn't at all assertive, rather playful and laughing. "But yes, six-hundred and twenty-eight, though I prefer twenty eight."

"Right, of course, Miss Flamel," Pomona muttered quickly. Her cheeks were flushing in embarrassment, but Eleksis coasted right over it and said kindly, "I heard of your work with the mandrakes during the Riddle crisis. Good work, good work!"

Eleksis didn't hear the murmur of thanks from the witch. She rounded on the last of the group, a tall, snakelike man with greasy black hair. His skin was pallid and moist, his eyes drawn up in a rather unflattering manner. He bowed respectfully to her, his cloak swishing softly, but he otherwise made no move for her hand. "Lady Flamel. So nice to see you."

"Lying through your teeth, as always, Severus," she said, words iced with spite. The look that crossed her face was one of repugnance and distaste and she quickly dismissed it. Frowning gives people wrinkles.

Snape didn't mind. He was not on cordial terms with Eleksis ever since she had discovered that he had been reading her thoughts when she had come to speak to the graduating class ten years ago. She had now trained herself in Occulemency in efforts to block him out, and currently, she was successful. If he pressed hard enough, he might have been able to penetrate the furled coils of her mind, but she would know about it. Basically, it wasn't worth it.

"Shall we begin?" Dumbledore said happily, motioning for them all to sit down. Pomona helped Filius up onto the couch and handed him his teacup and tray. Dumbledore, still smiling like a hyena, adjusted himself until he sat comfortably upright. "Miss Flamel? You have a proposal for us?"

She took a quick sip of the mead. She expected the routine zip that coursed through her body when she first touched the liquid and decided to take another before plunging into conversation. "I do. I have, in my household, the last surviving heir of Godric Gryffindor."

The women immediately choked on their mead. Severus, who hadn't taken a glass, shot her a look of obvious doubt. Filius had nearly spat all his out and dropped his teacup, but instead he spat the mead back into the cup and shuddered in his chair.

Eleksis had expected them not to believe her. After all, Godric's line had disappeared five hundred years ago when the esteemed heir Roy Gryffindor vanished without warning. The other relatives, eager to rid themselves of the media nuisance, let him slip away and dissolved into the wizarding peasantry. Godric was like Adam of Man; you could probably trace yourself back to him through hook or crook, anyhow.

"Yes," she said nonchalantly. "Roy and Aurore Gryffindor vanished during the Gryffindor family Lineage Scandal, but Aurore was with child. They fled to Indochina and started a coffee farm with the Muslims on Malaysia. Three generations later, with a man named Stollexius Gryffindor, they re-entered with wizarding community; meaning, of course, he closed the farm and moved to Sicily. I know this based on local history and myths among the Malaysian people, including one that said Stollexius could transform himself into a lion, and the fact that his wife, Mia, was burned at the stake for witchcraft."

"Ahh, I see," Dumbledore said with an enlightening glint in his eyes. "This Stollexius was an Animagus."

"Precisely," chirped Eleksis. "I made contact with Stollexius after his move to Italy and convinced him to remarry for the sake of Godric's lineage. He did not remarry, but had an illegitimate son by a pureblood witch, Menessa Bennett, named Benjamin. Henceforth, I have been able to secure pureblood marriage arrangements up until this century, at which point only one remains."

"Only one?" Minerva said with a dubious quirk of her eyebrow. "How can that be—only one descendant of an age-old family?"

"I've traced the lineage down through the eldest son. Recently, the latest one and his immediate relatives have perished in the Death Eater attacks, since the Dark Lord has picked up their trail." She looked slightly offended, as if all her centuries of searching had been diminished in wonder since a fledgling terrorist organization could root out the heir in a matter of months. "The return of Gryffindor's heir could spark unwanted morale for the wizarding populace, something the Dark Lord does not want. I found the child thirteen years ago, and raised and trained her in my household."

The room was completely silent. Eleksis could sense questions brewing in their heads, but she merely took a breath and returned to speaking. "My proposition is this, Albus: you take the girl, school her and protect her for two years, then we release her to fight the Dark Lord alongside the other Aurors."

Albus scratched his head. Eleksis poured herself a small dose of mead. "Don't worry, Albus. She's more than capable—I trained her myself. She's already Apparition-certified and she's developing quite a Patronus."

"Of that I have no doubt, Eleksis," he said, a troubled expression gracing his wrinkly features. "Other wise you would never have asked it of me. My qualm is this: we are presently hosting Harry Potter on Hogwarts grounds, partially for protection, and if we place another, ah, hot-ticket item on campus, the danger factor may multiply exponentially. The parents of the other children would be especially worried."

"You have kept Gryffindor's secret until now," piped up Minerva. "Why not finish training her, change her name and let her in to the wizarding community?"

"She is probably aware of who she is, up to the point where even a Memory Charm couldn't part it from her brain," Albus said. "All a Death-Eater would have to do is comb through her thoughts." He inhaled sharply, holding the breath for a moment before letting it seep through his lips. "Now I understand why you have come."

Eleksis set her cup down and folded her hands in her lap. "There is another reason."

They listened intently; Eleksis bowed her head as if in shame. "I am a dying woman. Nicholas and I have enough Elixir to last us through the century; after that, we are naturally viable. I expect our health to plummet in the first year we come off it, and death is predicted in the second, if not, third year. My time has come. I cannot successfully shield her any longer. My social resources are thin and I have no one left whom I trust enough to effectively secure her future, at least until womanhood."

She turned to Albus. Over the rim of his half-moon glasses, he could see the blur of her face, unfocused in the light. Her eyes, even without the aid of lenses, were clearly blue, and he could read the worry in them from a mile away. Sighing heavily, he looked at McGonagall, who dropped her gaze to the floor. "I suppose there is nothing we can do at this point. The Dark Lord will kill her, or she will waste away in the darkness. And I have no intention of muddling your life by forcing you to keep her away, Eleksis. Minerva?"

McGonagall gave him a pleading look, but he didn't concede. "Oh, I suppose. We'll take her into Gryffindor this semester—"

"Oh, no, I'd rather her be Sorted, just like any other student," Eleksis pronounced in a prim fashion. The satisfaction swept about her like a blizzard. "She is to be a Hogwarts pupil, not a celebrity. It was the paparazzi that chased the Gryffindor family away in the first place."

"Yes, I can see to that. She'll be Sorted with the rest of the first years in front of the entire school on the first day. I will request, as assistant headmistress, that she come to Hogwarts before the rest of the students to explore the grounds. Having her wandering places she shouldn't be—"

"Minerva, she is a normal student, as Eleksis outlined," Snape said, finally pouring a healthy cup of mead. "She should come by the train as all other do, sail across the lake with the lanterns, and, as mentioned, be Sorted alongside all other first years attending Hogwarts."

"Severus is right," Pomona said, closing her eyes and nodding placidly. "She is a first year."

"I don't see why all this is necessary," McGonagall said. She was evidently flustered after being shot back twice. "She is the last heir of Gryffindor! She will be placed in Gryffindor. She older than the rest of the first years; she'll feel stupid marching in with them—"

"Minerva, she wants to attend Hogwarts, and I hope that she receives everything Hogwarts has to give, knowledge, tradition, and all."

And that was the end of it. Eleksis had won. She thanked each of them by name and rose to her feet. The fabric from her kimono that she had pulled back to sit now swept elegantly back into place, the rustle of fine silk ushering her towards the door. She hailed a maidservant and sent for her things.

"What is this child's name, Mrs. Flamel?" Minerva's eyes appeared over the rims of her glasses, the chains holding them in place jingling as she stood.

"Audrinne Gryffindor," Eleksis said after a moments pause. "Audrinne."

McGonagall tapped the air lazily with her wand. An envelope morphed out of the tip, which she caught primly in her hand and handed to Eleksis, who tucked it in her obi. "Thank you, Minerva."

As she embraced her, Eleksis whispered in her ear, "There is one here who will turn her against herself. Please, watch over her."

Minerva couldn't help but smile. Eleksis had indirectly admitted that she knew Audrinne was bound for Gryffindor. But the request startled her. As cryptic as it was haunting, Minerva felt a twinge in her gut that told her there was an ounce of truth in it. "She will be safe, Ellie, I promise you," she whispered back, pulling apart. "Wonderful to see you, Eleksis. Keep in touch."

"I always am, Minerva. Thanks you, Misters Flitwick and Snape. And Pomona."

She looked flattered to be called by her first name. She rose, hand on her heart, flocking to Eleksis' side. "Yes, Mrs. Flamel?"

"Do go easy on Audrinne. She tried her hand at Muggle plants…killed them all, even the cactus. Try not to hold it against her that she's less nurturing than a desert. I can't imagine how awful she'll be with magical ones." She winked and smiled happily.

"I…I'll see what I can do," Pomona said. "Merlin, I'll make a good herbologist out of her, if it's the last thing I do."

"You're too kind," Eleksis said, slipping into her quilted silk coat. She took the stylish baklava from the maid, hugging Albus before thumping it on her head, and sprang out into the street, wand in hand. Before the door had closed she had Disapparated, and the party in the tavern dispersed silently to enjoy their summer.

----------

Audrinne Gryffindor was, indeed, beautiful. In her face were so smoothly blended the sharp features of her mother, a commanding and proud businesswoman of French descent, with the soft blood of her father, a handsome man from the western side of Italy. She seemed to have lost his Apennine black hair colour: instead, long tresses of stark blonde poured from her delicate scalp onto slender, skinny shoulders, and at last ended just over the budding thrust of her bosom. She had bristly black lashes that arched elegantly away from her face and high cheekbones that sloped obliquely into the button of her nose. It was an arresting face, infused with a formless radiance that lit her features with a lovely glow, spreading a gracious layer of splendor from scalp to chin.

But perhaps her most renowned facial trait were the burning tigers that blazed on either side of her nose. Her eyes were a warm gold; it is impossible to argue yellow, as yellow gives off a sickly, pale flush, unlike the rich furls of radiant amber she had bundled around opaque pupils. She had not consciously realized the power in her eyes and she used them senselessly on passersby, the women of which were offended and the men completely smitten. Perhaps it was better that she left the power relatively inert; she was capable in every other manner.

Presently, she was due to call on her matron, Eleksis Flamel, who was entertaining several guests in the Flamel's teahouse, the Lionflower. She, clad in green American Eagle capri sweats and a 'modified' t-shirt—meaning she had ordered a bigger size and cut the neck wider so it would drip over one shoulder when she stood still—would be coming from her dance class about six blocks away. She stuffed her things in her dance bag, checking to make sure she'd gotten both of her pointe shoes; it was a complete disaster the last time she'd been in a rush and left one behind…she had just broken her new pair in so it was critical she held on to them.

After a moment of reckless driving, she found herself on the bamboo walk to the teahouse. The Lionflower certainly looked out of place in downtown Manhattan; amongst the routine bustle of the city, the screaming horns and pedestrians, the pistol shots on the blacktop, and the soft revving of a thousand Mercedes were the quaint two acres of land styled like metropolitan Kyoto, Japan. The teahouse had the pitched roof of a Shinto temple and the sliding rice paper doors painted with the Kanji symbol for 'magic lover' complete with a cobbled front walk framed by decorated bamboo shafts inscribed with foreign prayers. The atmosphere instantly became calm, as if the rush of the city was immediately cancelled at the initial border; after the first few feet up the walk, the world transformed, molding into the shapes and colors of some distant universe: one of peace, quiet, and beauty.

It was completely in character for Eleksis, Audrinne always thought. Eleksis had been fascinated with the pleasure districts of Japan ever since she was…well, you couldn't call her young, but she had liked them for a long time. She had taken to wearing geiko kimono and adopted several of their customs, three of which she forced on Audrinne: music, singing, and especially dance. Eleksis was addicted to beauty, and, somehow, Audrinne always felt like Eleksis was trying to satisfy her thirst by enrolling her foster daughter in dance. Audrinne loved to dance, but the Noh and Kabuki style dances—the ones popularized by geiko in feudal Japan—were so boring and symbolic that she wanted to hang herself. While she took lessons in those from the co-mistress of the teahouse, she took modern and hip-hop downtown.

Dance where she got to toss her chest out and twirl around was the best kind of dance. Modern dance was quirky and strange, but it was exhilarating and artsy. There was lots of jumping and falling, throwing her neck back, arching up to the ceiling, and swishing in circles, all things she loved. If she was tired and sore by the end of the dance, then she was more than satisfied. That's why her passion for hip-hop had grown as she had gotten better: each move was energetic and provocative, but not forceless and slutty.

Now she was faced with a decision. She was fifteen minutes early. She could add ten minutes, since Eleksis never called in as soon as she arrived. That gave her almost half an hour. She smiled wickedly to herself, and turned on her heel, sprinted across six lanes of clogged traffic, down an alleyway, and stopped, excited, at a grimy blue door leading down a narrow hallway, crammed with velvet curtains and miscellaneous other things. She weaved through it expertly, her ears catching a thundering beat reverberating from somewhere in the mess.

'_The way you look at me, I'm feeling you_…'

She dropped her bag and snatched her pointe shoes from it almost angrily. The speed that consumed her was spawned directly from her craving for that mustic—she crammed her feet into her shoes and flexed her toes, feeling them lock into a tapered tip. She grabbed her bag again and started running.

'_Ring the alarm, the club is jumpin'_…'

She sprang into the room with a panicked expression on her face. The girls in the room had already started dancing, their hands straying from their waists straight in the air, then sweeping down as the dropped to shimmy backwards. A group of black boys hung limply on the boom box that was blaring Ciara and Chamillionaire's _Get Up_ and they didn't spare her a sideways glace. Their eyes were transfixed on the dancers on the cracked stage.

She could care less about them. She watched the girls closely, tracking their movements, and jumped beside the closest once before sliding into position. At last! Happiness flooded her as she popped her butt out and sank to the floor, springing up and flicking her head so her hair would scatter into a wide arc. The music slowed into the bridge, and she continued, just as vigorous without the speed. But the other girls had broken down and they folded out, eyes on her, trying to catching the move again.

'_Spicy just like hot sauce…_'

Audrinne used her pointe shoes. She pirouetted in a close circle before dropping back to earth and popping her body to the side. A dancer joined her. Then another. They drew together, shaking, dipping, flinging, a whirlwind of arms and hair. The joy flowed through the room like a winter wind. As the song ended, they mutually moaned before sinking to the floor, panting and spent.

"We thought you wouldn't show so we started without you," Maria said. "Please don't be upset."

Maria was the best dancer out of the other girls. She was Spanish and she practically wore the country on her face; her eyes were dark and her skin tan, sporting a full head of black hair. She looked like the stereotypical Spanish beauty, but when played alongside her dance, she was something else, something earth breaking…

Two of the girls Audrinne didn't recognize, but three we quite familiar. Kasci, the Asian girl who worked as eye candy at a low-profile nightclub, was there in her favourite blue sweats, and it looked like Corinne was borrowing Kasci's green shorts. Corinne was dreadfully thin, almost in a fashion that was uncomfortable to look at. Her skin wasn't completely black, but she was certainly of colour, and that helped add a bit more substance to her frail body.

Brooke, however, was definitely plus-sized. Despite her extra weight, she always dressed attractively; she didn't try to squeeze into smaller sizes, she wore shirts with ruffles or dark colours, and she never wore shirts with words. This may have reflected her character in the slightest as she was very quiet. Audrinne liked to think she spoke in her dance.

"Let's do another," Corinne said between gasps of air. "I have _Fergalicious_ on another CD."

"Pull it out, then," Maria said, walking towards Audrinne with her hands on her hips to catch her breath. "Audrinne, can I speak with you for a moment?"

They drew aside and huffed and puffed together for a moment before Maria asked, "So did you get into the school?"

Maria was not harmlessly curious about Audrinne's schooling. Maria was a witch herself—that's why she was as good at dance as she was. Maria had graduated from Beauxbatons two years ago and moved to America to continue dancing, and ever since she'd met Mrs. Flamel and her daughter, she had inexplicably stuck around instead of enrolling in Julliard or auditioning elsewhere. Perhaps it was because New York's wizarding community wasn't fully established yet, and if she went anywhere else, she'd be totally alone.

Audrinne debated. She knew her matron had visited the headmaster and heads of houses but she wasn't sure whether or not she was accepted. Eleksis was a damn good silver tongue, but against Dumbledore, the greatest wizard since Merlin, it would be hard to say.

"I don't know yet," she said. I'm supposed to be dropping in the teahouse now, and I think that's when Auntie was going to tell me. Why don't you come for dinner? I'll say you took master class at the studio and we were released at the same time."

"Mrs. Flamel will know, she's Legilimate. Hopefully she won't mind," Maria said, gathering her things and turning towards the break in the curtains. Corinne and the boys called to them, but they waved goodbye, and vanished into the darkness.

They jogged up the alley and back through traffic. When they stepped on to the stones of the bamboo walk, the noise from the street evaporated. The serenity of the grove surrounded them, layering them in thick sheets of tranquility, stillness, and splendor. Smiles slipped silently across their lips. They had entered Eleksis' realm.

The rice-paper lanterns lit up as they approached the door. The insulated shoe racks stood to one side, both completely full, but the put their things in a larger cubby overhead. Audrinne and Maria knelt, as was custom, slid open the door, bowing to the floor before scrambling to the other side. They then repeated the motion—kneel, shut, bow—almost as a routine rather than a ritual. The other mistress of the teahouse was very keen on observing old feudal customs, including the no-shoe and door-opening policies of ancient Japan.

The mistress was working with the calculator at the ochaya desk. She barely glanced up and then suddenly double took a look back. "Audri-chan, you're mother excepts you to dance in five minutes. She's in the Lotus Room." Her head then dropped back to the ledger.

"Can you dance with me?" Audrinne asked Maria. "You know 'Cruel Rain' and 'The Lighthouse's Tale'—"

Maria was at the door in an instant, kneeling and shoving the door open wide. "Maria, if you have to go—"

"I need my pointe shoes."

Audrinne suddenly remembered that she had come her in hers; sure enough, the bottoms were scuffed and dirty. She cursed herself over and over. These were a brand new pair…

Maria returned from outside after several series of bowing and kneeling. She put her shoes on right there in the lobby despite the mistress' disproving stare from the desk. They rushed into one of the corridors in pursuit of the Lotus Room. The hallways were narrow and usually clogged with serving maid traffic; the maids carried trays of sake and sushi, or brought instruments into rooms for a musician to play once the patrons were drunk enough. Some even had to clean up the drunken messes made by excessive drinkers, but mostly they were runners. In the Lotus hallway, however, there were no maids, probably because Eleksis had ordered them to vacate that side of the teahouse so she could conduct business.

Maria grabbed Audrinne's arm. "No one is looking. I'll change us."

She muttered something under her breath, pulling her wand from her sweats. She twirled the tip at Audrinne in an artsy fashion—something was wrong. Audrinne felt like she was Apparating; she was being compressed around her middle and the air shot out of her lungs with a ragged huff. She rushed to cradle her dying chest and her hand met a soft silken fabric. Yes, of course, Maria had put her in a kimono. Maria was wearing an identical one of white and pink. The obi was rose and black, and their collars were red and black. "Good job, Maria-san. You even remembered the right collar colour."

"I practically live here," she whispered before kneeling to open the door.

"Maria! Hair!"

"Right!"

With another flick, their hair curled up elegantly into a bun framed by a braid at the top of their heads. Then Maria slipped the door open.

--fin--

Author's Note: Thanks for the read-through guys! I think it's awesome that people are actually reading this, it was an absolute pleasure to write. I'm practically dying to post it. Thanks again for your time

Technical Note: The songs 'Get Up' by Ciara and Chamillionare and 'Fergalicious' by Fergie and Will.i.am aren't around at the time of Harry Potter, but they are such awesome songs. Bear with me, people. heart


	2. ii Exposure

ii. Exposure

Lionsgate: Gravity

The ceiling of the London apartment was boring. It had the raised residue of a bad paintjob, but was otherwise was as bland as a bowl of rice. Well, Audrinne should know better than to refer to something boring as a bowl of rice since she had been eating rice at least once a day since the teahouse was opened six years ago. Nevertheless, she was still lying on her back, eyes turned on the texture of the ceiling above.

The last few hours seemed like a blur. She could remember only pictures with distant voices, blobs for heads with monotone tags of speech hanging from their mouths. Maybe it was because she never got to dance that she didn't remember it that well.

Apparently, Eleksis had been able to shanghai a Hogwarts acceptance letter out of Dumbledore. Then Eleksis expelled everyone form the Lotus room and the two of them Apparated to this shamble of a hotel room. Audrinne hoped the Maria was okay. She seemed overjoyed when Eleksis announced that Audrinne would be studying abroad that year, but now that Maria had no reason to stay in Manhattan, she wondered where she'd go.

So this was it then. She was going to be a witch. But after her two years at Hogwarts, then what?

Oh yeah. The whole Gryffindor's-last-heir thing.

There was probably family business to take care of. That would be difficult, as she couldn't really call Gryffindor her family, since the Flamels had raised her. Even then, they made it a point to treat her like an orphan instead of an actual daughter. Audrinne always felt guilty when she referred to Eleksis as Mother. But then, if her real mother was out there somewhere, she certainly hadn't made any maternal efforts regarding contacting her at all. Audrinne suddenly realized she had no concept of family at all.

Eleksis was going to take her shopping up Diagon Alley. Eleksis had described it to her as the Canal Street of the wizarding world. Audrinne wondered if there were any Asian wizards.

Eleksis walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel and her shower cap. "Audri, could you hand me my wand? I can't see anything without my Vision Charm and it wore off in the shower…figures…good girl."

She magically corrected her vision and then perfectly dried her hair with a stream of hot wind out of the tip of her wand. Audrinne turned on her side. "I think it's odd that my matron looks more like a pin-up girl than an actual role model."

"Pike off, you." She made a rude face before zipping into her traveling kimono, which was an orange silk with a silver waterfall pouring from the knee into a slate-blue ocean. Brown cliffs split the waterfall with knotted driftwood at the base embroidered with lacquered threads. Her magic tied the obi for her—a russet and brown highlighted with gold threads—and she scraped her straight black hair into a complicated twist. Audrinne got to her feet, already in her robes, and helped position the jade comb in Eleksis' hair. Audrinne would rather travel in 'peasant pleasantries' and Eleksis referred to her clothes: Sperry top-siders, jeans, and a layered camisole and long-sleeved sweater.

"I'm going to Apparate to the Leaky Cauldron," she said matter-of-factly. "You can do a Side-Long Apparition. I don't want to attract unnecessary attention. Come, gather round."

"Eleksis, any attention you attract is unnecessary—"

All the breath woofed out of her as the encompassing compression set in. This time she was prepared for it, so she braced her abs against the force leaning against them and pulled all the muscles in her throat into a knot so as to conserve oxygen. At last, she was released and she took in a generous lungful of air, careful not to look worn and clumsy. Eleksis immediately shook her hand off of her kimono sleeve.

The Leaky Cauldron was a shabby place. Audrinne wondered if every famous hideaway in London was as rundown as the pub and her hotel. The walls looked damp and the ceiling was layered in a haze of smoke, small columns spinning into the end of long pipes clapped tightly between the teeth of several customers in the back. Most of the tables were empty and only three men stooped over the bar, and the bartender was leaning against the wall, fast asleep, a cleaning rag still in his fist.

"Thomas Weatherby," Eleksis muttered to Audrinne. "Lazy fellow when he goes astray, other wise one of the best Brandywine brewers in the world."

She moved towards a wine cellar in the back, weaving through the smoky with a single hand. Audrinne noticed just what an epic character she was when she saw Eleksis shrouded in the mist—she was truly a beautiful creature, yet the terror about her demeanor marked her evidently as an ambitious witch.

Thomas awoke from behind the bar. "Who…oh, Merlin, Mrs. Flamel! I didn't even…forgive my rudeness. Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Flamel." His lazy eye pointed at Audrinne. "Now who's this pretty little miss?"

Eleksis and Audrinne exchanged glances. Audrinne decided to bend to Eleksis' side, the feudal Japan side, where novices were seen and not heard. She bowed to the barkeep, but otherwise said nothing. Grimacing, Eleksis pronounced clearly, "Audrinne Gryffindor, apprentice of the Flamel household."

Someone puffed so hard on their pipe that the ashes hit the floor in a charred ball. Now all eyes had turned upon her, including the drunken ones hunched on the bar stools. Audrinne kept her hands folded at her waist and her face expressionless as she was taught, sweeping them a second curtsy. "Pleased to meet you."

Thomas snatched his hat of his head. "Oh, my…the Gryffindor? Godric Gryffindor?"

"The very same."

"But…I thought…since Roy…"

"He simply vanished, he did not die," Eleksis said flatly. Audrinne could feel her temper rising—Eleksis disliked being delayed. "There's a strange magic for you."

She turned promptly on her heel without bowing goodbye as Audrinne did. It was done. Eleksis had introduced her to the world. It made her gut tremble a bit, knowing that she could be swarmed with people who would claim to be related to her, people who would treat her differently because of her last name, maybe even some who would seek her out just to say hello to the last heir of Gryffindor.

"There are some who would do you harm in there, too," Eleksis said. Audrinne tried not to look surprised when the brick wall melted away. "A lot of people may judge you to be an elitist pureblood."

"You know how unfair it is when you read my mind," Audrinne said crossly.

"Then keep your Occulemency guard up at all times," Eleksis said, and stepped into the street.

Audrinne had heard stories about the wonder of true wizarding establishments, but no power she knew could arrest the images of Diagon Alley to words. There were beautifully painted portraits of pretty women on broomsticks, their hair waving in an imaginary wind, and they would occasionally wink or blow a kiss to a passerby. Boys on bikes loaded with wrapped goods zigzagged to and fro on the streets, occasionally crashing after a sizzling look from the girls huddled in bunches along the curb. Squawks and screeches resonated with the several vernaculars spoken in the street and packs of owls flowed in what looked like traffic lanes over head. It was a queer place, buzzing with oddity, yet one that Audrinne could tear her eyes away from. The noises were exotic and new, the smells and sights etching themselves into the back of her brain with every blink and whiff of salted air. It was wonderful!

The cobbled main street was crammed with people in varieties of clothing: brightly coloured robes, plumed hats, metal armor, and even antebellum dresses. For the first time, Audrinne felt out of place in her Western clothing, whereas Eleksis looked right at home. She turned to the star-struck girl in the entrance and said firmly, "Close your mouth, you blowfish! Come, come, and try not to make a fool of yourself, Miss Gryffindor…"

Together they fell into the rush of traffic, scuffling up the lane in a whirlwind of chatter and laughter. Audrinne's neck was sore from pivoting to scope out the entire picture of Diagon Alley, the intense colours and astonishing nature entrancing her to the point of exhaustion. Eleksis was perusing her list of things for school, mumbling to herself, and finally broke away to enter an angular-looking shop called _Flourish and Blotts_.

Inside the store were twelve rows of book that spiraled in a star-shaped pattern with a desk in the nucleus. Small globes of light seemed to orbit the five clerks' heads as they checked out books and pointed customers down the rows. As they approached, Audrinne could see that they were tiny multicoloured humanoids, rushing pencils back into canisters and flying books back to their proper shelves. There must have been fifty of them zooming around the shop.

"Maisy," Eleksis said to the lead clerk with a red swatch of fabric on her uniform hat. The woman looked up, shoving her flowing brown hair over her shoulder.

Marvel was splayed across her face. "Eleksis! Is…is it time?"

"Yes. She is coming out. I believe you have the school books I preordered?"

"Of course, they're right here. I figured you'd turn up in the rush. Can I get a good look at her, if you don't mind?"

Audrinne wasn't even paying attention. Two of the pixies toting thick tomes had collided and dropped their cargo on the head of a redheaded girl, who was looking up angrily at the pixies who had begun to wrestle in mid air. Their auras began to turn red as the fight intensified.

Eleksis clapped Audrinne on the shoulder and she snapped together, smile falling and back straightening. She bowed to the clerk, who had stuffed a thin pair of glasses up her thin peak of a nose. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

The woman leaned across the desk. "Yes, there is something quite lion-like about her. Proud eyes, smooth face, gold hair…definitely true to her blood, Eleksis."

Eleksis grinned, but it vanished quickly as she reminded herself why she was here. "Her books, please. Here's the gold."

She placed two piles of money on the counter and Maisy dropped two pixies over them. They sorted the coins into drawers before zipping away, and Maisy began to stack books, one by one, onto a metal sheet. "Such an honor to meet you, Audrinne. Your mother told me about you a few years ago, after I saw you dance in the teahouse. 'Song for the Lonely Lover' it was, blue kimono, red collar. I remember it quite vividly."

"That's odd, Maisy, since you drank your weight in sake at that party."

Maisy's smile cracked as a customer rang the bell on the desk. He was the first in a growing line, and he was obviously not pleased that Eleksis had cut just in front of him and his family. His wife looked disgruntled too, probably because she was carrying the books. "Hey, we've been waiting for a good half hour and someone can just waltz in here and be served right quick? What's the secret?"

"Do you even know who this is?" Maisy said, gesturing at Eleksis. Audrinne had turned to watch the brawling pixies again, who were now surrounded by kids egging them on with cheers and zaps from their wands. "This is Eleksis Flamel, great witch of the West, come here from America. You'd do well to respect her!"

"And she'd do well to obey the rules! Get in line!"

One of the pixies had turned completely red. The children applauded loudly.

"I'll not have you speaking to Mrs. Flamel in that manner! One of the greatest witches there is, married to Nicholas Flamel, another legend…Sorcerer's Stone you know…"

The weaker pixie shook itself off after it had been thrown against a bookcase. The red one had picked up a letter opener and was squeaking at the other in a menacing way. The ring of spectators quickly called to their friends to come and watch the finishing blow.

Audrinne couldn't believe no one was going to stop it. She tugged on Eleksis' sleeve. "Onesan…"

"I'm really sorry to have disrupted you, sir, but we are in a rush, and we cannot simply dwindle about in line."

"Like the rest of us have time dedicated to waiting in line? This is poor service right here, absolutely dreadful…"

The red pixie, letter opener in hand, began its plummeting dive towards the fallen pixie that lay in a sprawled heap on the floor. The kids took in an excited breath.

"_Protego_!"

Audrinne leaped out from the curl of Eleksis' arm and onto the carpeted flooring of the shop. Her hands gave birth to a wave of translucent blue light that twined with the pixie's brandished weapon and smashed it to pieces. The rips of metal in the room shuddered against the floor and the children gasped in awe. A string of energy loped out from her sphere and crackled around the defenseless pixie, squealing in terror. The red one crashed against the globe and fell away, astonished.

Silence pervaded the store as she shoved the kids out of the way, scooping up the frail pixie in the cradle of her palm and clenching the scarlet one tightly in her fist. She bounded back to the front desk and dropped the stunned forms of the little creatures on the desk, much to Maisy and Eleksis' surprise. "They hit each other in mid air and started fighting. This one tried to kill the other one."

Her rubbed her temples; she must have had another migraine. She watched the red colour of the malevolent pixie sizzle away into the usual bluish yellow. The pinpricks of thousands of eyes suddenly raised goose bumps on her body and she turned slowly towards the astounded congregation who stared at her like a giant bunch of lockjaw germs.

Eleksis snapped back to life. She waved her wand and the books disappeared with a bang, and she grabbed Audrinne's shoulder to hustle her out of the bookstore. This would be the second time she'd neglected the proper farewell ritual as a direct result of Audrinne's appearance. As soon as they were safely back in the hustle of street traffic, Eleksis rounded on Audrinne.

"What in the name of Merlin…never, in all my days, have I seen someone override the Property of Energetic Transfer…" Audrinne was terrified, suddenly realizing that she was in trouble.

"No, no, no, by no means are you in trouble! This a wonderful, wonderful thing, Audrinne." Eleksis said hurriedly. "We must go to Ollivanders…yes…come now…"

She shoved her across two lanes of shuffling people until she was tugged into a shop with a rounded sign reading 'Ollivanders—Makers of Fine Wands'. Other than the fact that it was smaller, the store's innards bore an astonishing similarity to that of Flourish and Blotts. Cases and papers were stacked into organized piles, divided by armoires overflowing with books and small oblong boxes.

Suddenly, one of the sliding ladders crashed against a bookcase, dumping the rider onto the floor in a trembling heap. Apparently, the man had been so surprised to see them that he'd accidentally tried to slide right off the tracks. She and Eleksis helped him to his feet and he backed up into a pile of cases and collapsed again, mumbling to himself excitedly.

After extracting himself from the piles and straightening the overturned cases, he readjusted his thick spectacles and took in the contrasting image of the women in his doorway. "My! Eleksis, so wonderful to see you…and Audrinne!"

He was old, but you could never tell if you judged him by demeanor alone. His wrinkled hands were peppy and cheerful, an air of frivolity lavishing him with energy. "The last Gryffindor. Oh, I had certainly hoped one of your line would come back to my shop… my great-great-grandfather always said it wasn't in Roy's character to commit suicide…"

Before Audrinne could bow in greeting, he had pounced upon the ladder and was whizzing down the aisles, changing ladders expertly. After a triumphant "Aha!" from within the labyrinth, he whooshed back and handed her a smooth red case, his face flushed and sweaty with enthusiasm. "Holly, nine and three-quarters inches, braided lion's mane at the core"

She popped the cover off. The case was lined with velvet and, resting in imprinted grooves, contained a single wand. The handle was skillfully carved with a roaring lion's head and sloped into a smooth shaft with a beautiful stained wood colour. The carving was so lifelike that the windy breeze outside seemed to echo with a distant, throaty howl, but it was hard to tell since the man, presumably Mr. Ollivander, was urging her to take it out.

"Place it tightly into your fist there, and try it out!"

"Mr. Ollivander, I already have a wand." She produced her ashy-looking wand from her purse. He snatched it away and examined it closely. Audrinne noticed that Eleksis looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Where did you get this wand?"

"We went to a little seaside shop in Italy a few years back—"

"It's nothing, Gideon," Eleksis said nervously, sweeping the wand out of his hand and breaking it over her knee. The unicorn hair inside peeped through the wooden splinters.

Audrinne screamed. "My wand! Eleksis, what in the name—"

"Hurry up and try out the other wand, I must speak to Mr. Ollivander."

She crossly removed the new wand from its case and held it awkwardly in her fist. Her anger subsided at once, and she swished in a small circle before bringing it down to her side. A loud growl emanated from the wand, much to Audrinne's shock. A curl of crimson smoke issued from the tip and Mr. Ollivander squealed with happiness. "First time! And on a Gryffindor!"

"Congratulations, Gideon," Eleksis said impatiently, paying him several Galleons and Sickles for the wand, which he placed back in the box and handed to Audrinne. It emitted a bang and disappeared, and her palm tingled slightly. "But I have a serious matter of which I must discuss with you—"

"Gryffindors are not wand-makers, Eleksis."

"Thank Merlin, else she'd be working with those Italian louts already," Eleksis said, boredom in her tone. Mr. Ollivander looked insulted. "I mean to say that Audrinne is an Evoker."

Mr. Ollivander looked like something marvelous yet terrible had overcome him. His old knees knocked together and he put a clammy palm across his forehead. Eleksis called a chair to him and he sank into it like sand falling through water. "Oh…she's truly of Gryffindor then…was an Evoker himself, he was."

"In Flourish and Blotts, two pixies had a skirmish and one was just about to finish the other off when Audrinne used a Shield Charm. Completely wand-less. Everyone was staring, including myself, and there hasn't been an Evoker since Tia Dalma in the 1700's…just amazing to watch."

"What's an Evoker?" Audrinne finally piped up.

"An Evoker is someone who can perform Evocation magic," Mr. Ollivander said slowly, almost unconfidently. "They can directly manipulate the magic energy force with the use of a transfer medium. " He held up his wand as an example. "They are extremely uncommon, but there are more Evokers than Parselmouths, luckily, or unluckily, depends on how you look at it…"

"So I can cast spells without a wand?" When they nodded, she smartly replied with, "Then why do I need a wand?"

"Go on, then, levitate this book." Eleksis pointed at a thick, snakeskin tome sitting placidly on the cluttered counter.

"Fine." She pointed her open palm towards it and shouted. "_Wingardium__Leviosa_!"

The book hovered a few inches but quickly slammed back down. Audrinne suddenly had a tearing headache, much like the one she had back in Flourish and Blotts, yet noticeably stronger.

Eleksis allowed her to soak in the pain along with her silent message of defeat. She them muttered a pain-relief spell before saying keenly, "Still want your wand?"

"Don't be sour, Auntie."

Eleksis turned back to Mr. Ollivander. "I wish to speak with you in private. Audrinne, take your list and go get the rest of your things. Most of them are preordered, except for the Apothecary supplies, so just tell them my name. Send them back to the apartment. Go on, then."

She was shooed out the door and into the lane. She sarcastically thanked her creator for making her in such an odd fashion; in addition to surviving a long line of famous wizards, she also was an Evoker, some weird type of magician who was as rare as twelve-pound diamond. Wasn't there an ounce of normality in her blood, just a drop?

Something in the back of her head whispered, _no, you are a witch. You're about as normal as they come for people like you._ She silently agreed. A quirky life would be better than an ordinary one.

She glanced at her list. She needed her uniforms, a cauldron, a telescope, and brass scales. What on earth were brass scales? She scrutinized the paper a second time, watching a milky font appear next to the text. It was Eleksis' flourished handwriting, noting the names of shops in which to go to. Eleksis was always ten steps ahead.

She stopped by the cauldron shop, amused that it wasn't the Leaky Cauldron itself. She then supposed she wouldn't want to buy a cauldron from a place with a name like that—bad marketing on their part. The caldron store was generally boring, and she made sure she waited in line this time. The witch merely handed her a pewter disc and turned to the next customer. She then remembered that this was a collapsible cauldron. The ones in the alchemy lab of the Flamels' house were solid lead or palladium propped up on steel bases and complete with self-stirring magic.

There were plenty of students in Madame Malkin's. Again, she had implemented the use of pixies, but these were much brighter yet a lot slower. Six of them would work on one student while Madame Malkin herself would drift about, charging parents and setting up new workstations. As soon as she had pronounced the first syllable of Eleksis' name, Madame Malkin stuffed four wrapped parcels in her hands and rushed away to call the pixies off a poor boy as they all fought for the same needle.

She passed the Eeylops Owl Emporium on her way to the Apothecary. She imagined there was a great load of noise laced behind those wooden doors. The Flamels had a beautiful Siberian snow owl named Grayden (for her grey-spotted belly). Grayden was unusually calm for a Siberian owl; Audrinne recalled the hilarious incident in the kitchens when correspondent of Nicholas sent his owl over on an empty stomach. It fluttered into the lead cook's face and wrecked havoc everywhere. It pooped in the soufflé and pecked the daifuku to pieces, not to mention it frightened the scullery maids out of their wits. Needless to say, dinner was ruined for that night, but it still made great conversation.

The Apothecary was an interesting shop. There were barrels full of rat heads, bags near overflowing with lizard bones, and even a tank with evil-looking eels swimming quietly with a sign that said, "Your pick for four Galleons and a Sickle." Audrinne was familiar with lacewings and stew-able slugs, but there were other more morbid potion ingredients: dung beetle shells, shrunken heads, and long, twisted wiry things called kelpie hairs. The man at the counter had glittery beady eyes that immediately reminded Audrinne of the large rounded buttons on her black Oxford jacket.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm picking up an order from Eleksis Flamel…oh, right," she said, remembering that Eleksis hadn't ordered potion ingredients, probably because they changed annually with the curriculum. "I need materials for a sixth-year at Hogwarts."

He smiled an oddly dark smile. "Of course, Miss…"

She inhaled sharply, blessing herself with confidence. "Gryffindor. Audrinne Gryffindor."

He dropped a glass vial and it shattered loudly. His lower jaw seemed to have fallen alongside the vial since in now hung open in bewilderment. She tried to keep her face as professional and normal as possible, and he quickly regained his composure and fixed the vial with a tap of his wand. "Of course, my apologies, just never thought…never thought you'd come back."

He carefully selected a few potion ingredients and excused himself to go to the storage room in search of brass scales. She wandered around the inside of the shop, still entranced by the assortment of things that could be used in potion making. There was a wall of small angled cauldrons filled with strange things like newt toes, cans labeled 'frog's breath', fairy dust, and shark oil. One on a higher row had a note tacked to it saying, 'lion tongues'. The contents were out of her sight, so she went up on her toes to see that they looked like.

"You must be a dancer," someone said. She immediately flopped back down to earth. There was now a boy at the counter. He had platinum blonde hair that sharply contrasted the gloom around him. Her eyes immediately found his; they were so recognizably blue that she could have sworn she'd seen them in a Calvin Klein add or something.

He smiled weakly. "Beautiful poise. You were perfectly on the box."

"Do you dance?"

"I know a few witches who do."

"Know Maria Jostinzo?"

"Not offhand," he said, handing her the parcel full of supplies.

She mentally kicked herself. "That was silly of me. I'm sure there are thousands of dancers in the wizarding world."

"So you're new here? New to the community?"

"An unwilling outcast, you might say."

"You're with the Flamels?"

"They're my sponsors, I guess. They raised me, if that's what you mean." She found herself leaning towards the counter instead of towards the door. "I never met my parents."

"Were they our kind?"

"Both pureblood."

He smiled brightly, crossing his arms and falling against the counter. "Good! So you're transferring to Hogwarts this year?"

"You could say that," she said, biting her lip. The sense of urgency that Eleksis had instilled in her was beginning to burn at the back of her head, but the boy continued.

"That's great. I go to school there. Know what house you'll be in?"

Audrinne kicked herself again. This boy had no idea who she was and she'd been assuming the whole time that he'd known her inside out. She hated when her pride caught her by the foot. "I can't really say. I don't suppose it matters so long as I get a good education."

"I'm in Slytherin," he said, finally straightening up and giving the charge pad a cursory look. "That'll be…fifteen Galleons, eight Sickles and a Knut."

Audrinne was getting tired of kicking herself. "Damn. I totally forgot to stop by the bank while I was out. All my other things were preordered." She put the package back on the counter. "Damn. That was stupid of me."

The boy chuckled to himself. "It happens. I bet you were really busy."

"Yeah, Eleksis wanted to speak privately with Mr. Ollivander, so she sent me to do the rest of the errands. I got lost so many times; it's not even funny. I suppose it was fun until it got real. Listen, can I run to Gringotts real quick and come back with the money?"

"Do you even know where Gringotts is?"

Now that she thought about it, she could have kept him waiting an awful long time if she had to go out at find the bank by herself. She'd seen pictures in the Daily Prophet back when Harry Potter had been involved with her patron's Stone, but that wouldn't do her any good if she didn't know where it was.

"Um, actually, no."

He jumped over the counter, her parcel in hand. She saw he was wearing a finely cut chiffon robe with an expensive velvet cloak. "Tell you what. I'll waive the equipment fees if you let me walk you to the bank."

"Why? Then I'd owe you both for the stuff and for the directional help."

"No worries," he said. "I'm always here to help a fellow student in need, especially a new student."

"That's not very Slytherin of you," she said before clapping her hand over her mouth, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm too judgmental. I'd love to go with you."

He opened the door for her. "Name's Draco Malfoy. You might have heard of my father, he does a lot of things in the wizarding world, Lucius Malfoy."

"No, I really haven't." She had, in fact, heard of his father. They were not good things; mostly things about how he was suspected for involvement in a recent scandal or murder. He was on the usual list of the Ministry's bad folks, barely avoiding punishment by hearty donations to Ministry operatives. "I'm Audrinne."

Before he could ask for her last name, they had diffused into the rush of the alleyway. Draco turned a corner abruptly, Audrinne tagging behind him. As they plodded through the people, Draco droned on an on about Gringotts, thinking Audrinne was brand, spanking new to the wizarding world. This was an unfair assumption, but so was the one she was making that saw him as a proud aristocrat, even though hers was true.

Draco greeted several shady looking people before stopping before a white Greek-looking building. The stone pillars were crooked and crumbling, and the entire place looked as though it would give way any minute. Draco saw the look on her face, and said with a grin, "It's been like that for a thousand years. It's not going to fall."

"Good," she said uneasily, gliding up the first of several stone steps.

"I have to go," Draco said suddenly. "My shift is up at the Apothecary and I have other stuff to do—"

She mumbled her thanks and took the package from him. "I really appreciate it. Thanks for everything. See you at school," and with that, he dissolved back into the crowds.

Audrinne pulled her new wand out if its case again and rapped on the parcel of ingredients. It disappeared with a bang and she jumped, though none of the wizards around her did. It was weird to see wizardry a part of everyday life, whereas at home it was always a secret.

"Where'd you get that?" someone said behind her.

She turned to face a group of people standing about three steps down from her. Two were boys, one with red hair just like his sister, who must have been the victim of the pixies' collision, based on the bruise on her forehead. Another girl, about the same age as the boys, was with them, her fizzy hair tucked into a long braid down her back. An older couple wandered up behind them, distaste instantly springing up on the man's face. It was the customer from the bookstore who had complained about Eleksis.

She bowed to them and smiled. "Hi."

The boy at the forefront repeated the question. That's when she realized who it was.

His tawny brown hair was flowing in the wind, pulling it off his face just so she could see the puckered scar sleeping on his forehead. It was a thin purple line that jutted in a zigzag—the unmistakable lightening bolt. It was Harry Potter. This boy was Harry Potter. She was face to face with the biggest legend in wizarding history since her father.

"You," she said to herself, but he read her lips. His eyes narrowed.

"Hey, weren't you the one who cut us in Flourish and Blotts?"

"Um…er, yes, I suppose, b-but it was an accident, it was actually my Aunt, well, not really my aunt, I wouldn't have cut you… she's just one of those people, you know, always on the move—"

She heard herself spouting out babble, and her hand slapped over her mouth again. She sorted the words with a calming breath through her nose before saying clearly, "Yes, and I apologize. We were wrong to cut you, and I'm sorry."

The redheaded boy smiled. "No problem. I heard the Flamels are real cocky."

"Ron!" His mother whacked him in the shoulder with a magazine. "I'm sorry. No filter between his mouth and mind. I'm Molly Weasley, by the way…"

"Audrinne," she said courteously, extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

The man stood his distance, pretending to be interested in the safety bulletins posted on the walls. Molly poked him hard in the stomach. "Arthur! She's apologized and it wasn't even her fault. Be polite!"

Begrudgingly, he extended his hand. "Arthur Weasley."

"Audrinne," she repeated with a smile. "Again, so sorry for everything."

Harry Potter tapped her red case. "Is that a wand?"

She brandished the carved wood that was formerly in the case. "It's a wand from Ollivanders. Just got it this morning."

Harry gave her a quizzical look. "Mr. Ollivander vanishes two months ago."

"He was in the shop when I went in with Eleksis."

He stared at her for a moment before a small smile crossed his face. "That's really weird."

"Mmhmm."

She couldn't think of anything to say. It was really Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. He'd fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named more than once and lived every time. It was glorifying to be this close to him. She was tempted to ask for his autograph, but that would be very rude considering she had already gotten off on a bad note with him.

"Harry Potter!"

A woman with hair the same colour as Draco's had just spotted him and stood in the square with her hands clasped to one side of her head on apparent glee. There was a brilliant green quill hovering near her, perfectly matching her pea green vest and tailored pants. Her glasses jostled on her face as she fought through the crowds to get to him.

The frizzy-haired girl choked, "Rita Skeeter! I thought she would have known better than to come and find you by now…hurry! Into Gringotts!"

The whole lot of them, Audrinne included, darted up the stairs and into the bank, quickly getting in one of the farther, shorter lines. Harry ducked behind Ron, who was turning quite pink. Arthur Weasley resisted making a snide remark about Audrinne being in front of them in line after his wife pinched him on the arm.

"So you guys go to Hogwarts?" she said in a friendly manner, trying to heal the wound.

"Yep," Ron said, smiling. "I haven't seen you around…"

"I'm new," she said with a childish face. She felt a little stupid, even though she probably knew loads more then they since Eleksis had taught her. "I'm transferring to Hogwarts this year. I'm home schooled."

"By Eleksis Flamel?" the girl blurted. "She's got to be the greatest witch since Tia Dalma, or even Stella Bell…you must be a really good student."

There was a competitive edge in her voice that was confirmed when Harry Potter said, "Worried she'll upset you from your number one spot, Hermione?"

"No," she said quickly. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

"Audrinne," she said again, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Ron's hand instantly appeared from the protective fuzz of his sweater. "Ron Weasley."

"Ginny," the girl beside him said, staring up at her with big blue eyes. Audrinne frowned guiltily. "Did the pixies get you? Hope that doesn't hurt to much."

"Harry Potter."

She tried to take his hand as calmly as she could. There was a strange warmth that seemed to echo in his skin, and when her fingers really clamped down, she could feel a soft hum of electricity buzzing there. She gripped hard and shook once. "Ever so pleased to meet you."

"Harry?" a shrill voice sounded in the background. "Harry! There you are!"

"Oh, Merlin," the boy said, slouching in disappointment.

"Next!" the Gringotts goblin said.

Audrinne hustled to the counter. The scrawny wrinkled goblin stared back at her with a tiresome frown on its face. "Um, hi. I need to make a withdrawal, but I don't have my key. It's probably going to be the first time the account will be opened in a few centuries."

The goblin pulled a funky-looking apparatus towards him and took a chunk of copper from a jar nearby. He opened the crystal dome on top and dumped the metal in and pressed a button on the front. She could see that the metal was melting amazingly fast, and a tiny beep announced that it was ready to be poured. "Your name, miss."

"Audrinne Gryffindor."

At first it was only the people in a five-meter radius that fell silent, and then the rest of the bank followed suit. Even the goblin gave her a surprised look before typing in a series of runes on the front panel of the machine. The liquid metal seeped into the bowels of the mechanism, and after a few very awkward minutes, a drawer popped out with a freshly baked key. The goblin blew on it several times before shoving it in his jacket. "Right this way, Miss Gryffindor."

As she slid though the hinged doors of the Gringotts counter, she heard Rita Skeeter mumble in the tip of her wand, "Reggie, get some reporters in her. Gryffindor's back."

The goblin opened the door to an iron cart before getting in himself. The stone passageway had a faint metallic smell, one of either blood or flame. There were braziers on the wall, but the darkness suggested a more sinister nature to the labyrinth than its appearance showed. A mist hung limply in the caverns, but it quickly dispersed as the car jolted to a start and began zooming through the underground, turning every which way and dipping over hills and darting through rubble. She couldn't tell if she was still deep underground or in a raised cave. The goblin in the cart simply sat there professionally and seemed perfectly content to be silent. She liked that out of such an unsightly creature.

After a while, the cart stopped at an island of four vault doors. The doors were massive things, perhaps six meters tall by four meters wide, and made of solid bronze. The bolts on the side had a glittery sheen that reflected her face back at her in a warped image. The goblin plugged her key into a keyhole on the left side, and then walked across to the right and inserted a second key into another slot. She saw the dolled-up 'G' at the head of the key; there must be two keys to every vault for security.

"If you'll just twist that on three, Miss Gryffindor. One, two, three!"

A loud sucking sound rang through the dungeon as the door shuddered and peeled away from the wall. Before she could pull the key out, she found herself bathing in rays of warmth and the reflection of a huge fortune splayed before her. Literally, there were mountains of gold sloping off into the back of that vault some fifteen meters away. In between the mounds of Galleons and Sickles, there were pyramids of jewels—rubies glowing like coals, sapphires like knots of the ocean, and emeralds that seemed to have forests within them. She stood there in the light, completely awestruck.

She stepped into the vault, followed closely by the goblin who perched himself on the edge to show that he wasn't going to lock her inside, and took a handful of gold coins in her fists. They were warm and polished to a glossy shine. She flung them to the far corners of the vault, laughing with joy.

A long clang echoed in the rear. That's when she noticed the suit of armor standing triumphantly at the back. It was a gorgeous thing; the chest plate was molded from gold and steel, emblazoned with a roaring lion's head. After comparing it with the one on her wand handle, she saw that they were the same—just as real as the material they were engraved on, yet more fantastic than anything she'd ever seen. The suit was an angel's battle attire, done in cold steel instead of rays of sunlight. There was a cloak studded with topaz gemstones that swept from shoulder to the back of the calf, fluttering in an imaginary wind, and attached to the shoulder with golden clasps shaped like claws. She touched the lion's teeth, whispering a prayer to her great ancestor. A zephyr of a voice seemed to breathe back at her, calling softly, "Audrinne."

"Huh?"

"Yes, Miss Gryffindor, did you need something?"

She realized that she was becoming delirious from all the gold. "Nothing," she called back, dropping to her knee to fill her purse with handfuls of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. When she barely managed to shut the sack, she made herself a quiet promise. She would put more gold into this vault than she took out. She wanted her daughter to be overcome with happiness when she set eyes on the fortune, just as she had. With a last look at the arms, she repaired back to the cart, and whisked up the caverns back to the lighted entrance to the lobby.

The cart had banged up the sides of her ribs, but she was otherwise just dizzy. She fixed her hair with a flick of her wand and pranced up the stairs to the foyer.

No soon had she appeared in the doorway than a thousand flashes lit her vision. Her eyes instantly reeled in purple. She couldn't see a thing. After a quick Vision Adjustment Charm, she caught a glimpse of about twenty people clutching cameras to their faces and screaming for her to look their way. The goblin went back to his desk and asked for another customer.

The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were still there. Hermione motioned for her to come towards them, and she did so without thinking, her mind stunned by the bursts of white light firing to her sides. Suddenly, wand tips appeared from nowhere, as well as floating quills and pads of paper. Harry batted them away. "Rita called in the Daily Prophet. You need to get out of here."

Hermione and Ginny began clearing an alleyway in the throngs of people. Harry helped usher her to the doors, which burst open with more people and reporters. She felt several hands on her arm, pulling her to the side for comments.

"Are you really the last heir of Gryffindor?"

"What happened to Roy Gryffindor?"

"Tell us everything!"

"Oh, please, miss, come this way!"

"I'm with the Daily Prophet, if I could have a word—"

She managed to make it to the steps before she lost Harry and the Weasleys. More wands appeared, some even daring enough to poke her in the cheek. Even though she wasn't saying a word—and just stood there speechless—the quills were scribbling and people were still photographing.

"Gryffindor has come! In our hour of need, Gryffindor's back!"

"STOP IT, ALL OF YOU!"

Silence hit like a summer squall. A woman was coming towards the bank, her wand out and hair flaming behind her like a blazing flag. Her kimono was open in the front to reveal tanned, muscled legs that took a carefully measured stride and turned it into a dance move. She was suddenly elegant and horrifying at the same time; her beauty was reserved enough to entrance and seduce, yet swift enough to send fright riddling into the hearts of those who beheld her. Stunning but terrifying, with the sweet softness of magic floating about her in a crackling sphere, this woman practically oozed power.

Eleksis was thundering up the steps as people squealed and ran out of her way. Anger and frustration seemed to cackle at her fingertips. Even the reporters withdrew their quills and back into the building, leaving Audrinne exposed on the landing.

Audrinne knew better than to be afraid of Eleksis, and she knew better than to think Eleksis was angry with her. Sure enough, she trudged right past her and hulked in the doorway of the bank, a look of utter revulsion on her face that made all who saw it quiver in fright.

"Never, in my six-hundred years of witchcraft, have I seen such disrespect towards the line of Gryffindor. I cannot ask you to be ashamed anymore; shame has since perished in this world. But you would do well you heed my caution: another camera shot or Quick-Quotes Quill note, and it will be the last honorable thing you do in a thousand years."

Her words reverberated through the lobby for several minutes as she returned to her usual lofty state. She turned to Audrinne and took her arm, and the pair glided down the stairs together, leaving the congregation in the bank startled and flabbergasted.

"Next," called a goblin, and things snapped back to normal.

--fin--

Notes:  
--Onesan—a name novices in Japan refer to their female masters as. It's also a symbol of closeness. You wouldn't call your teacher 'Onesan', but you would call your older sister or a close friend (who is older than you) your Onesan. Pronounced ohh-nay-uh-san.

--I make a lot of references to geisha. If you don't know what a geisha is or would like to learn more, please look it up on Wikipedia or Google. I read both _Memoirs of a Geisha_ by Arthur Golden and _Geisha, A Life_ by Mineko Iwasaki, so I consider myself a self-proclaimed expert on the story. I guess I'm a lot like Eleksis... proud, thinks she's powerful, big on beauty and respect... but I'm not a pushover, thank Merlin, haha!

--Thanks so much for reading again! This is so exciting... can't beleive I'm finally posting this story. Hope you enjoyed it!


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